Colonials Won Two Medals at Last Year's Event

WASHINGTON - The George Washington women's rowing team will travel to Oak Ridge, Tenn., this weekend for the annual Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association (SIRA) Championships on Friday and Saturday on Melton Lake.

GW has enjoyed success over the past few years at the SIRA Championships, earning a gold medal in the Varsity 8 and a silver medal in the JV8 at last year's event and sending three boats to the Grand Finals in 2012.

GW will enter its Varsity 8, JV8 and Varsity 4 at this weekend's event. The Varsity 8 and Varsity 4 will row in Friday's heats for a chance to advance to Saturday's semifinals while the JV8 will open competition in Sunday's Grand Final at 11:26 a.m. against Dayton, Purdue, Kansas State and Marietta.

The Varsity 4 will launch at 4:17 p.m. on Friday against Florida State, Samford, Vanderbilt and Washington University. A total of 25 Varsity 4 boats will compete across five heats with the top three boats from each heat, plus the next three fastest times, advancing to Saturday morning's semifinals.

The Varsity 8 will race at 5:46 p.m. on Friday against Miami (Ohio), Central Oklahoma, Florida Tech and Georgia. The Varsity 8 competition will feature 21 crews competing over four heats, with the top three boats advancing to the semifinals and the next six fastest times advancing to the C-level final.

GW is coming off a fifth-place finish at last weekend's George Washington Invitational on the Potomac River.